Who are Yun 'Lucy' Lu Li and Oliver Karafa? Influencer, beau held for murder
HAMILTON, ONTARIO: A wealthy influencer from Canada and her boyfriend, who were wanted in the February 2020 shooting death of Tyler Pratt, have been arrested. On Monday, June 14, police in Hamilton, Ontario, said Yun 'Lucy' Lu Li and Oliver Karafa were taken into custody by law enforcement authorities in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, June 12. The pair has been accused of fatally shooting Pratt and also severely injuring his 26-year-old pregnant girlfriend, who reportedly lost her unborn child after the incident.
According to reports, the 25-year-old influencer and her boyfriend fled to Budapest after allegedly committing the crime. They were wanted on murder and attempted murder charges. No information behind the motive of the 2020 shooting has been released by police, who, however, said that the victims and the suspects knew each other. Also, it’s not been clear yet who among the two suspects fired the bullets.
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Who are Yun 'Lucy' Lu Li and Oliver Karafa?
Li is said to belong to a wealthy Canadian family. She is reportedly one among triplets. She and her two sisters — one of them a beauty queen — are reported to have a huge following on Instagram. Their mother, Hong Wei 'Winnie' Liao, is reportedly president of the Toronto-based asset management firm Respon International Group. The family is believed to have wide political connections since Liao has been pictured with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as well as Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “We are deeply shocked, disturbed and puzzled by Lucy’s involvement in the unfortunate incident,” Li’s family said in a statement to a Chinese news outlet, which was translated by The National Post.
Li’s 28-year-old boyfriend Karafa is reportedly from Slovakia, who was living in Toronto when the alleged murder happened. It has been said his past criminal record is not clean as he was behind bars for five years after he was found guilty of impaired driving causing death; driving while over legal limit of alcohol; criminal negligence cause death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle cause death. He had killed 19-year-old David Chiang in the deadly crash that happened in April 2012.
What happened in February 2020?
Li and Karafa allegedly carried out the murder and attempted murder of Pratt and his unidentified girlfriend respectively on February 28, 2020. The shooting reportedly took place in the evening and minutes after 7.15 pm, the Hamilton Police Service reached the crime scene — an industrial park on Arvin Avenue in Stoney Creek. While the father-of-three died at the scene, his girlfriend was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
Soon, Li and Karafa were reportedly identified as the suspects in the case and it was also found that they fled to eastern Europe within 24 hours of the tragedy. According to Hamilton Police Det Sgt Jim Callender, the duo went through a number of countries, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic, before reaching Budapest. However, with the help of the Hungarian Fugitive Active Search Team, they have now been detained and are expected to soon be extradited to Canada to face charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Pratt’s mother, Jonni Yeomans, told The Daily Beast: “We’ve gone through a devastating time. We’ve lost a grandbaby through it, as well as our son. She was expecting. So it’s been very devastating for us.” The grieving mother also spoke about his dead son. She added: “He was very much an entrepreneur, very much family-focused, he loved his children. So there’s been great loss for all of us, but I really feel like he left an amazing legacy and poured so much love into all of us. So we’re all really grateful for that.”